Top draft choice seems more comfortable with pace of play
Belleville News-Democrat
BY STEVE KORTE
June 12, 2006

I don't think I'm competing with anybody

It didn't take long for cornerback Tye Hill to get over being a starry-eye rookie.

'At first, it seemed like Tye was really enamored with being an NFL player now,' Rams coach Scott Linehan said. 'He's still pretty young, but it took him maybe a week to all of the sudden say, 'Hey, it's time to play like I did to get me where I am at.' He's much more comfortable, and he's showing up as a guy who fits in great.'

Hill, 24, the Rams' first-round pick in the 2006 NFL draft, got a lot of work at cornerback during the team's mandatory minicamp this weekend.

'Sometimes I get a little anxious when I go up against people like Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce,' Hill said. 'I'm trying to play to their level. I think I need to stay within myself, keep learning and try not to get frustrated with everything. Those guys are like future (Hall of Famers), so when I go against them, it's usually good work.'

Hill said neither Holt nor Bruce teased him or did any trash talking to him during the minicamp.

'The only thing they really say to me is encouraging words,' Hill said. 'I'm a first-round pick, so the expectation level is going to be higher than say a seventh-round pick or an undrafted free agent.

'They tell me to just keeping working hard even when no one is watching. That's why I am still out here catching the ball.'

After practice, Hill spent about 15 minutes working on quickly turning and catching the ball, the same motion used when intercepting a pass.

'Ball skills, that's the name of the game,' Hill said.

Hill was exhausted after the Rams' rookie minicamp in early May, but said he was in 'far better shape' for the mandatory minicamp.

'Now I'm well-adjusted,' Hill said. 'I know now not to believe what people tell me about the practices in the NFL. The practices may be shorter, but the tempo is a whole lot higher.'

It's shaping up to be a fierce battle during training camp for the two starting spots at cornerback, with Jerametrius Butler, Travis Fisher, Fahkir Brown, DeJuan Groce, Ron Bartell and Hill all vying for playing time.

'I don't think I'm competing with anybody,' Hill said. 'We're all out here with the same goal, and that's to win a championship, and I'm a part of the puzzle.'

Hill said he was confident that he would be signed to a contract in time for the start of training camp.

'I want to be with the team,' Hill said. 'I don't think there will be a holdout or anything. I have a good agent who is going to handle all of that.'

In the meantime, Hill planned on getting more familiar with the Rams' defensive playbook.

'I have to stay in the playbook,' Hill said. 'I have to be ready when I come to camp. When I come to camp, I can't really be having the mental errors that I have been having. When I come to camp, I have to be sharp.'